Manchester City Slip Again in Title Race as Brighton Claim Point at Etihad

Manchester City’s Premier League title challenge suffered another setback on Wednesday night as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton, extending their winless run to three matches.

Erling Haaland’s first-half penalty appeared to have put City back on track following recent draws against Sunderland and Chelsea, but Kaoru Mitoma’s equaliser ensured further frustration for Pep Guardiola’s side. The result offers league leaders Arsenal the opportunity to move eight points clear should they defeat Liverpool on Thursday.

City had chances to secure victory late on, with both Haaland and Rayan Cherki failing to convert promising openings.

The draw capped a difficult start to 2026 for the champions, who are dealing with a mounting injury crisis at the back. Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias are both sidelined with serious problems, while John Stones also remains unavailable, forcing Guardiola to deploy an inexperienced central defensive pairing.

Twenty-one-year-old Abdukodir Khusanov partnered debutant Max Alleyne, the 20-year-old defender recalled this week from a loan spell at Watford. Alleyne is the son of former England cricketer Mark Alleyne.

Brighton, sensing vulnerability in City’s reshuffled defence, began on the front foot. Pascal Gross, recently re-signed by the Seagulls, tested Gianluigi Donnarumma with a header before the goalkeeper also denied Ferdi Kadioglu.

City struggled to generate momentum in a subdued opening period. Bernardo Silva sent a tame effort straight at Bart Verbruggen, while Haaland headed wide from a promising position. The hosts were briefly exposed when Georginio Rutter broke through on goal, but Khusanov recovered impressively to block his attempt.

The game sprang to life shortly before half-time following a controversial moment in the Brighton penalty area. Jeremy Doku went down under a challenge from Diego Gomez, but referee Thomas Bramall initially waved play on, prompting furious protests from the City bench. Guardiola was booked during a heated exchange with Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler.

After a VAR review, Bramall reversed his decision and awarded a penalty, which Haaland converted confidently by firing into the bottom corner. City nearly doubled their advantage soon after, only for Tijjani Reijnders’ effort to be cleared off the line.

The hosts continued to press after the break and came close again when Silva struck the outside of the post after capitalising on a loose pass from Yasin Ayari.

City were made to pay for those missed opportunities when Brighton drew level. Mitoma, making just his second start since returning from a two-month injury lay-off, picked up the ball on the edge of the area and drove a low shot beyond Donnarumma.

Moments later, Brighton almost completed the turnaround. Mitoma surged into the box and squared for Diego Gomez, but the midfielder miscued his effort, with the ball ricocheting off Donnarumma, Mitoma and the post before being cleared.

City responded with renewed urgency. Haaland saw a header cleared off the line by Kadioglu following a corner, while the striker then squandered a clear opening after being teed up by Cherki, shooting straight at Verbruggen.

Cherki himself missed a late opportunity when he fired over as time ran out, leaving City to reflect on another costly night in the title race.